Chapter 4 - Communication and Integration

In the past, addresses have been assigned by the various addressing organizations acting more or less autonomously. Communication has been limited mainly to notification letters that have been sent out to utility companies and other "address users" whenever addresses have been assigned or changed. It is this relatively limited degree of communication that has enabled addressing problems to occur and to go undetected for long periods of time. This chapter proposes several actions designed to improve communications to the point where most addressing problems are either avoided entirely or detected almost immediately.

In addition, address data has never been systematically compiled and integrated with other related databases on a County-wide basis. This is a particularly crucial shortcoming considering the sophistication of the GIS programs run by the County and several of the major cities and utility companies. An accurate, timely and comprehensive address database linked tightly with the GIS databases would not only improve the address assignment process but would substantially expand the amount of information that could be analyzed geographically and improve the precision and usefulness of spatial queries. This chapter proposes an "address repository" that would begin to solve this problem.

1. Directory of Address Assigners

   A directory of people actively involved in address creation or correction may be obtained from AIMS by calling 913.715.1600. This list will allow questions about a particular address or about addresses in general to be quickly routed to the correct person. The directory will include name, address, phone number, email address and agency. Whenever changes occur, new information should be supplied by each participating organization. In addition, the directory information should be checked annually to make sure it is still accurate.

2. Directory of Address Recipients

   A directory has also been created of those people who need to be notified when new addresses are created or existing addresses modified. This information can also be obtained from AIMS by calling 913.715.1600. This list will allow address information to be distributed as efficiently as possible. The directory will include name, address, phone number, email address, agency and geographic area of responsibility (if applicable).

3. Addressing Feedback

   All participants in the addressing process and all address users are strongly encouraged to communicate directly with the address creator whenever any of the following situations occurs:

   1. There is a clear addressing error (e.g., an assigned address is clearly out of sequence or on the wrong side of the street given its parity).
   2. There is a potential addressing problem (e.g., a duplicate street name is being proposed).
   3. Actual usage differs from address assignment (e.g., the address posted on a building is different than the address assigned to that building).

   This communication should include the address (or addresses) in question, a description of the problem and how the problem was discovered, and suggestions for possible corrections. The address creator, in turn, should make a good faith effort to respond to the person who identified the problem and to make changes, if appropriate.

4. Addressing Compliance

   Once addresses have been assigned and communicated to all interested organizations, a concerted effort should be made to make sure that everyone in each organization actually uses the correct address. For example, it would be helpful if permits were not issued or utility service applications approved for incorrect addresses. Alternatively, such permits and approvals might be granted on an interim basis until the address can be verified.

5. County-wide Address Repository

   It is strongly recommended that the County AIMS program create and maintain an electronic "address repository" for all valid addresses in the County. Ideally, this repository should be updated by each address creating organization either through direct editing or through digital file transfers. The updating process should be designed to identify addressing conflicts or errors so that corrections can be made before addresses are released to the public and other address users.

   In addition to the address information itself, the repository file should contain the parcel ID number for the parcel of land on which the address is located and, ideally, an X-Y coordinate that would indicate the location of the address within the parcel. These pieces of information would allow address-based data to be very closely integrated with the GIS software in use throughout the County. In addition, it would allow easy access to address data through either logical or spatial queries. This has the potential to significantly improve emergency services response time by providing site specific locational information for each address.

   A number of services and contacts have been established to assist in the communication of address questions or concerns. For questions relative to addressing or streets within the County, the following options are available:

   Contact AddressInfo:
   AddressInfo
   c/o AIMS
   111 S Cherry St, Suite 3100
   Olathe, KS 66061
   Email: [email protected]

   Contact StreetInfo:
   StreetInfo
   c/o AIMS
   111 S Cherry St, Suite 3100
   Olathe, KS 66061
   Email: [email protected]